Tailgate Straps Instead Of Cables

[chris_kucia]

On my second set of cables, and I really don't like them, even though they "work"

 

Noticed in some old threads that there were some vendors selling straps like were used in the older trucks. All those guys seem to be out of business.

 

I poked around LMC Truck, and they sell the hinged straps used in the '73-'87 FS trucks. They mount a little differently, but I was wondering if anyone's tried retrofitting these?

 

My FIL has one - I may run over there and see how close they are.

[chris_kucia]

Saw the FIL last night and took a look at his truck.

 

The hinged straps are definitely not a bolt-on item, but they look close enough that I think I will be able to make them work.

[lsorah0001]

I am curious to know if this works or not. Sounds like a good idea. Is it possible for the to tailgates to be switched...maybe not permanently, but just to see if the hinge idea works?

[chris_kucia]

I am curious to know if this works or not. Sounds like a good idea. Is it possible for the to tailgates to be switched...maybe not permanently, but just to see if the hinge idea works?

 

Unfortunately, the latching is totally different. The older trucks have a latch similar to home doors where ours are like car doors.

 

I'm taking a slightly different approach.

 

The GM hinged supports' mounts are integrated into the latch plate. Not insurmountable, but kind of a pain.

 

Here's a pic of an auction on ebay.

 

 

So I did some digging and found that Ford used a similar setup during the same era, but they had a separate mount.

 

I just won these on ebay:

 

 

LMC sells them too, but they were a little more than I wanted to spend for an experiment.($25 each, + S&H)

 

I think these will work. Only problem will be if the dimensions of the links are such that I have to put them right where the latch is. We'll see. There seems to be plenty of space between the tailgate and the bed side - the latch already takes up a lot - so I think they'll physically fit into the space.

 

I have a small welder, so worse case I can potentially cut & paste

[mkelly]

I am curious to know if this works or not. Sounds like a good idea. Is it possible for the to tailgates to be switched...maybe not permanently, but just to see if the hinge idea works?

 

Unfortunately, the latching is totally different. The older trucks have a latch similar to home doors where ours are like car doors.

 

I'm taking a slightly different approach.

 

The GM hinged supports' mounts are integrated into the latch plate. Not insurmountable, but kind of a pain.

 

Here's a pic of an auction on ebay.

 

 

So I did some digging and found that Ford used a similar setup during the same era, but they had a separate mount.

 

I just won these on ebay:

 

 

LMC sells them too, but they were a little more than I wanted to spend for an experiment.($25 each, + S&H)

 

I think these will work. Only problem will be if the dimensions of the links are such that I have to put them right where the latch is. We'll see. There seems to be plenty of space between the tailgate and the bed side - the latch already takes up a lot - so I think they'll physically fit into the space.

 

I have a small welder, so worse case I can potentially cut & paste

 

 

Remember that if you cut and paste you have to do it on bot sides of the hinge otherwise the tailgate wont close